Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil set to keep ‘dictatorship’ slogans

A bird rests on the “Pillar of Shame” statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, at the University of Hong Kong, Monday, June 4, 2018. AP

HONG KONG  — Organizers of a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong marking the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown are set to use slogans calling for the “end to one-party dictatorship” despite warnings from pro-Beijing forces of potential repercussions.

According to a according to a speech released ahead of Monday’s event, Chow Hang-tung, a vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, will urge participants to resist pressure not to use the political slogan.

Chow’s speech says: “They want us to accept this reality: China is under the rule of the Communist Party, and the regime is going to last forever.”

The vigil that is held annually in Victoria Park is expected to draw tens of thousands of people. /ee